With the development of the Internet and the advancement of digital technology, digital files—including image files (e.g., photos), audio files (e.g., music, audio recordings), video files (e.g., video recordings), and so on—can now be shared among friends over the Internet as an exchange of thoughts or sentiments. In addition to sending the files directly to the intended friends via electronic mails (e-mails), file sharing is enabled by websites that provide online photo album or online storage functions. Image files uploaded to such websites can be viewed by the uploaders' friends directly at the websites, and audio or video files which have been uploaded beforehand can be downloaded to a terminal device so as to be played using an audio/video playing software (e.g., KMPlayer).
Presently, there are a plethora of websites that provide online photo album or online storage services. Some notable examples of online photo album websites (also known as “web albums”) are Picasa Web Albums and Flickr, the services of both of which are free of charge. As to online storage (also known as “web hard drive”), the most popular websites include MEGAUPLOAD, RapidShare, SendSpace, and so forth. These online storage websites typically allow some (or all) of their functions to be used free of charge by the general public, so users can utilize the basic upload/download functions without paying fees or upload/download files at a basic transfer speed (which is lower than that applicable to fee-paying members). As the online storage services are free, they are generally referred to as “free file hosting”.
The foregoing online photo album and online storage services not only make file sharing possible, but also enable remote file access and data backup. More particularly, a user can apply for a user name at an online storage website and, with the user name, upload files from a first terminal device (e.g., a personal computer in the user's home) to the web hard drive. When the user, now operating a second terminal device (e.g., a personal computer in the user's office), needs to access the previously uploaded files, the user can connect the second terminal device to the online storage website (web hard drive) via the Internet and log in the website by using the user name so as to download the needed files. The user can also manage the files in the web hard drive, such as by executing the file deleting and/or editing functions. Thus, the user only has to upload files to the web hard drive in advance, and the files are accessible to the user anywhere and anytime.
However, as the files must be sent to the web hard drive (or web album) one after another, the file transfer process is rather time-consuming, especially when the number of files is large. Moreover, when the total size of the uploaded files reaches the upper limit of the storage capacity of the web hard drive (or web album), no more files are allowed to be uploaded, which is indeed an undesirable limitation in use. Apart from that, while the files uploaded to the web hard drive (or web album) are intended to be shared with the uploader's friends, the files may be accessed or even maliciously used by irrelevant users such that the uploader's privacy is infringed.
In addition to the file access and sharing methods described above, the widespread broadband network connections have enabled file transfer by the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), which is a standard network protocol for file transfer. A user may apply to an Internet service provider (ISP) for a fixed IP address with which a personal computer in the user's home can make Internet connections. This personal computer can be set up as an FTP server after, among other things, installation of FTP server programs. Then, the FTP server can be set with one or more sets of user names and passwords according to practical needs. Thus, the files stored in the personal computer in the user's home can be accessed remotely by the user using a terminal device which is installed with an FTP client program and located in the user's office or elsewhere after the user logs in the FTP server from the terminal device with the preset user name and password. As for file sharing, the user may activate the anonymous login function of the FTP server or create user names and passwords for other users (e.g., the user's friends), so as for the other users to log in the FTP server either anonymously or with the user names and passwords created for them and download the files intended to be shared.
Nevertheless, the setup of FTP servers is a complex procedure and involves complicated settings that are prohibitively difficult for ordinary users, which explains why file access and sharing through FTP is not yet popular. Besides, according to FTP, passwords and file contents are transmitted in plain text. As a result, the packets being transmitted are very likely to be intercepted, which raises data security concerns. Also, personal computers set up as FTP servers may be broken into by those with ill intentions and be installed with Trojan horse programs or other malware, thus turning the FTP servers into a springboard for cyber attacks. Last but not least, personal computers set up as FTP servers must always be turned on so that terminal devices can connect to them at any time for file download. In consequence, such personal computers are vulnerable to overload and may have a short service life, which translates into extra financial burden on users.
Hence, the issue to be addressed by the present invention is to provide improvement over the conventional methods for accessing and sharing files. In particular, it is desirable to save the time otherwise required for uploading files sequentially and to achieve remote file access and sharing with enhanced data security but without complicated settings.